Unmarked
by Sempai Sunny
Summary: *COMPLETE* Post Series. Someone's just woken up, and is finding his way back to his life...R&R. SERIOUS SPOILERS!! *COMPLETE*
1. Awakening

Erm, yes. In light of the recent abandonment and removal of Purest of Pain (yeah, I know, it was pretty bad), I have started this. I wouldn't have come up with it if it weren't for the ambiguity of episode twenty three.

I don't own Trigun.

Spoilers for the whole series. If you haven't finished it, I suggest that you don't read this.

Also, Unmarked is the working title. If someone can come up with a better one, I will be eternally grateful.

**Unmarked**

            Why was it so cold in here? I could have sworn it was pleasant when I had fallen asleep.

            I sat up, aware that I was only wearing my slacks. "Hello?" 

            "About time you woke up," a man in the corner said, nonchalantly washing something. "Hungry?"

            I nodded scanning the room. On a chair nearby were my shirt and my blazer, both lightly stained.

            "My wife tried very hard to get all the blood stains out, but it was difficult. Also, I'm afraid I have no idea who you are. The man who brought you here kept your wallet, I assume. I wish that man would have stopped to think, though. He was sure you were dead. Never bothered to check for a pulse,"

            'Good old Tongari,' I thought to myself. 'Never thinking at all,'

            "I hate to say that they left a few days ago," the man continued, bringing me a sandwich. "Your friend, as well as two of his companions,"

            Shit.

            The sandwich hardly sated me, but it was fine for the time being. I noticed the stitches on my chest, and winced slightly.

            "Is there a motorcycle parked anywhere nearby?" I asked, racking my brain for the address of the hotel where we'd stayed. It evaded me entirely.

            "A few blocks down," he said, studying me, my wounds in particular. "Is it yours?"

            "Red?"

            "I'm pretty sure,"

            "Yes," I murmured. But, how the hell was I gonna pay for gas if Vash had ripped off all my cash? I'd only had a few hundred double dollars as it was, and now I was flat broke.

            "What's your name?"

            I turned back to the man. "You don't already know?"

            "I told you. Besides, your friend was in about a million pieces, not coherent enough to string two words together."

            'That's him alright,' I thought. If that wasn't the Vash I knew, I didn't know what was.

            I'd spared Chapel, when I should have killed him, and it nearly cost me my life. For once, it seemed as though God had bestowed his mercy on me, instead of me misinterpreting it and using it as a reason to shoot and kill.

            'Decisions have to be made in a split second.'

            It was.

********

            "Do you think you'll be okay, Nicholas?" the man asked me. I'd never asked his name, never cared to find out in the few weeks I'd stayed with him. He'd been kind enough to led me enough money to get me to where I should be headed.

            I nodded.

            "Don't you dare go and buy cigarettes with that money. They'll be the death of you."

            'You sound like the girls,' I thought.

            'Cigarettes are bad for the baby, darling,'

            "I know. That's why I quit, Milly," I murmured.

            "Who's Milly?" the man asked, answered only with a cloud of dust kicked up by my bike.

            It would only make sense to go to LR, since I knew Legato would be there, and I had a bone to pick with him, but something steered me in another direction.

            "Damn."

            Up ahead lay what looked like the remains of a town. I tensed up immediately, wishing that baka hadn't taken my cross. There had been evil here, decimated down to a large crater. Had Vash and his destructivity attacked again?

            I parked the bike at the edge of the crater, hunting for clues. I felt slight stabs of pain where my wounds were still healing, but this was something I had to do.

            "He must have had his reasons," I announced to the empty desert. "We all do."

            'Talking to someone, Nicholas?'

            I spun around, sure I had heard a voice. "Who's there?"

            There was no one.

            'You won't find me here,'

            Where had I heard that voice before?

            'Useless spider,'

            Knives.

            "Dammit! Where are you?"

            'Come and find me. Then, perhaps, I'll have my little traitor properly destroyed.'

            Little traitor. That would be me.

            I had honestly wanted to save Vash, to protect him from the Gung-Ho Guns. I didn't want him to be destroyed. So, now, I was the target of destruction.

            I slumped against the wall of the crater, the red dust coloring my blazer and trousers. The blood stains on my shirt were covered by my jacket, but their placement were perfect indications of what lay directly underneath.

            "Milly,"

            Would she still want me now? Now that I was this scarred, supposedly dead being? If I appeared on her doorstep, would she run away screaming? What about Meryl? Or Vash?

            That night, I felt truly redeemed then. It was as though God had sent me an angel, for me to keep on earth and protect. One simple night of passion, which was all I required.

            "Oh shit,"

            I had left a part of me behind, within her.

            Did she know it yet?

            The dust whirled around me, stinging my eyes, burning my skin, the twin suns setting slowly around me, casting a palette of pinks, oranges, and vibrant reds.

            The brightness of the red caused me to shut my eyes. It was the exact color of freshly spilt blood, and I'd seen too much of that in my life. It was probably the sight of my own on the ground behind me that traumatized me the most.

            Closing my eyes, though, conveyed images that I never wanted brought to my face again.

            And, in the middle of it all, the oddest thought struck me.

            What had ever happened to Legato's real left arm?

            I opened my eyes, startled at the insanity that was clearly settling within me. Then, in a final glint of sunlight, just as the twin stars dipped below the horizon, there was a flash.

            It struck me as oddly familiar, like sunlight being reflected off of metal. Particularly, a buckle.

            I hurried deep into the crater, chasing where I'd thought I'd seen it, promptly tripping.

            I clutched my side in pain, aware that I'd ripped open one of my wounds. I yowled in pain, knowing that no one was going to find me out here. I was as good as dead now.

            "I admit, that when Milly wanted one of us to bring her the cross, I didn't think she'd want the priest as well," a familiar, semi-sarcastic voice commented.

            I turned around. Standing behind me was a petite woman with short, jet black hair, and gray eyes that clearly gave away her surprise.

            "I must be tired," she murmured. "I'm seeing things."

            "Either that or I am," I countered. Meryl would never grace the top of my list of favorite people, and we tended to have trouble getting along. "Why are you here?"

            "Because Milly wanted either Vash or me to bring your cross to her," Meryl stood before me.

            "It's _my cross!"_

            "You're dead,"

            I narrowed my eyes at her. "Meryl, tell me something. Do I _look dead to you?"_

            She hesitated slightly, before whispering, "No,"

            "Well?"

            "There is no way that you're alive. Vash brought you to the coroner's office. It just isn't possible."

            I would have argued further, but a fresh stab of pain shot through me.

            "Let…me…have…my…cross," I growled, through clenched teeth, holding a fist to my side. "It…belongs…to…me."

            I felt my eyes drooping, sleep taking over. I surrendered to the weight of my eyelids.

********

            "BOKUSHI-SAN!"

            Oh no.

            "Sempai! How?"

            I felt two arms wrap themselves around me.

            "Milly, give him a break. He's torn open his own wounds."

            "But he's alive! Oh, Vash-san will be so happy when he hears this!"

            I opened my eyes, wincing at the pain. "Milly, precious, please,"

            My pleas fell upon deaf ears, as she embraced me tightly. I scanned the area around me, aware that I was in a room of sorts.

            "Meryl, where the hell am I?"

            "Home," Milly said, cuddling next to me. I noticed her long brown hair and her clothes were slightly damp. "This is home!"

            "It's a house that the people in this town, October, have been kind enough to rent out to us. They aren't too fond of Vash, still, though it's improving. They don't want to kill him anymore, at least."

            I remembered the voice I heard out in the desert. "Knives. Where is he?"

            Milly stared at me. "Knives-san is upstairs, asleep. He's been that way for a very long time, now."

            "A few weeks," Meryl clarified, washing a few potatoes in the sink.

            "Where's my cross?"

            "With your bike, outside," she answered nonchalantly.

            "Any chance I'll be allowed off the couch?"

            "No," Milly murmured, nuzzling me. "I missed you so much,"

            I reached my hand out to stroke her hair. "And I, you,"

            Meryl coughed, her not-so-subtle way to tell us to cut the affection.

            "Wait till Vash-san gets home," Milly whispered. "She'll be all over him,"

            "I'm sure," I murmured, watching the shorter insurance girl peel the potatoes. "Milly-chan, sweetheart, could you help me?"

            Her large blue eyes stared at me. "How?"

            "My cross," I muttered vaguely. She got off the couch and helped me up, acting as a human crutch. Leaning on her, I smelled the faint odor of sulfur on her clothes. What had she been doing?

            She led me out to the porch, where a black cat jumped off the railing.

            "Nyao,"

            "I'm having a nightmare," I muttered, watching it walk away.

            "Bokushi-san?"

            "Milly?"

            She giggled slightly. "Would you like me to carry it? It's probably too heavy for you right now."

            "It's never too heavy," I muttered defensively, reaching out for it. "Oomph,"

            Milly  propped me against the railing, walked over to my cross, picked it up off the ground, and slung it over her shoulder without giving it a second thought. Then, she walked back over to me and led me inside.

            "Come on," she said. "You need your strength,"

            "I've heard that one before," I muttered. Somehow, though, I got the feeling that it wasn't going to end up the same way it had before.

            Milly led me up the stairs to a simple bedroom. "This is my room, but you can use it. I'll share with Sempai tonight,"

            I shook my head. "You don't have to do this. I can take care of myself,"

            "No,"

            Milly took off my jacket and led me over to the bed. "Lie down and rest. I'll come and get you when supper's ready." She glanced warily at one of the walls, then left.

            Why had she done that? Was there something wrong with me being in here?

            'You're digging your own grave, Wolfwood,'

            Not again…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, whaddya think? Give me five *GOOD* reviews, and I'll continue it! Also, someone, please, help me think of a better title! It's rather irrelevant!

Ecaep dna evol, Sunny


	2. Who I Am

Legato: It's hot, we're bored, and Sunshine-chan is fast asleep!

Midvally: So we're gonna write the next chapter of Unmarked. 

Legato: Someone, we forget who, said it was a good title in an ironic sort of way, so we've decided to keep it!

Midvally: Even though we are part of it, we don't own Trigun.

Sunny: ::from another room:: MIDVALLY! LEGATO! GET AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER!

Midvally: -_-;;

Legato: -_\\;;

Sunny: ::looking tired:: Oh. You've started it. ::boots bishies off of chair:: ::opens one of her 3 cans of soda::

Legato: Are the other 2 for us?

Sunny: ¬.\\ What makes you think that?

Legato: Well, there are three cans, and, presently, three of us.

Sunny: ::shakes head:: I need to stay awake while I write this chapter. Now, GET OUT OF HERE!!!

::Midvally and Legato run away::

**Unmarked--Chapter Two**

            If Knives was unconscious, how was I able to hear him? Was he able to communicate with me even so?

            Voices wafted up from downstairs, as I watched the twin suns set outside the window.

            "Wait, Vash-san!" I heard Milly say. "I just want to check on Knives before we eat!"

            Now that was a load of bs.

            Actually, it probably wasn't. Milly was the nurturing type, but I knew then that it wasn't Knives who she was going to look in on.

            "Bokushi-san?" she whispered, opening the door.

            "Are you ever just going to call me Nicholas, like I ask?"

            "Nicky-kun?" she said hesitantly, and I felt my skin prickle. She'd called me that, just once, as I was leaving that morning.

            "Better," I said, trying to sit up, and a fresh stab of pain shot through my side.

            She hurried to my side and helped me up, again a crutch. The warm smile on her face, marred slightly by flashes of concern, told me that she didn't mind at all.

            "I'm so happy that you're here," she cooed softly in my ear.

            She eased me down the stairs slowly. I could have probably done it myself, but she insisted.

            "Sempai?" she called out before we reached the kitchen. "Could you come here a moment?"

            Meryl poked her head into the living room, a major part of the whole first floor (actually, the kitchen and a bathroom were just two offsets of it), and smiled at me. "Of course,"

            "What's go--" Vash followed her out into the room, and dropped the mug he was holding. Coffee, tainted from its original strength with generous amounts of milk and sugar, spilled to the floor. 

            The tall blonde man gazed straight into my eyes, almost not recognizing me at first, then staring at me with a look somewhere between fear and confusion.

            "What?" I asked him, slightly aggravated. "Doncha recognize me?"

            "Of c-c-course I d-do," he stuttered, clearly amazed that I was actually standing there in front of him. He reached out and gingerly touched my arm, then walked over to the side of the room, where a coat lay discarded on a chair. He rifled through the coat for a few minutes, then found what he was looking for.

            "Are you leaving without saying good-bye?" he asked me cautiously, walking back over to me. He held out a pair of sunglasses, which I immediately recognized as my own. 

            "Sorry," he whispered. "I took them from you, as my own little physical memento,"

            "So, then what was my cross to you?" I asked him, aware of the brashness of my tone.

            Vash winced slightly. "I didn't want something that dangerous falling into the wrong hands. Milly kept it,"

            "So, how did it end up in a giant crater in the desert, with a considerable amount of other rubble?"

            "The only other things over there that weren't rocks or organic material were my coat and my and Knives's guns."

            "Ya left them out there were any fool could stumble over them?" Like myself? I thought.

            Vash looked away. "They wouldn't be able to use the guns; they're too heavy. And, only Knives and I are able to destroy cities with them."

            "Nicky," Milly whispered softly, "please,"

            I looked down. I had so many reasons to be angry at Vash, so many to hate him, and, yet, I was unable to. I still had to kill him, as my lesser boss, the one residing on this planet, was still alive, laying unconscious above our heads.

            'You have a job to do, Wolfwood,'

            His voice echoed through my head, and I raised the arm that Milly wasn't clinging to up to my temple, to soothe the throbbing that Knives's messages induced.

            "I have no intentions of leaving this time," I said, casting a sideways glance at Milly, who laid her head on my shoulder angelically.

            I shook myself free of the girl, and followed them into the kitchen.

            "We're going to need another chair, obviously," Vash said brightly, as I took one of the four.

            "Not if," Meryl cut herself off, silencing herself with a look from Milly. I smiled within myself. Apparently, the shorter insurance girl still had the misfortune of occasionally saying the worst thing possible.

            I watched her mouth, "Not if Knives dies", her head tilted downwards, so Vash couldn't catch it. She was sitting directly across from me, so I spotted it. If Milly or Vash saw, they attempted to remain blissfully ignorant of it.

            Of course, Vash didn't even want the mere thought that he may have killed his own flesh and blood, much less mention of it from someone he was clearly in love with.

            "You know what would be really funny, Bokushi-san?" Milly asked absently after we'd all served ourselves. Once again, Meryl had cooked dinner, and it looked as though her cooking was just as I remembered.

            "Milly-chan," I reprimanded her softly. I did not need to be called "Mr. Priest" by her, still.

            "Nicky-kun?"

            I nodded. Vash shot an amused glanced at Meryl, who shook her head and smiled.

            "I think it would be really funny if you and Sempai were related," Milly continued, twirling her spaghetti around on her fork. "You do look somewhat alike."

            "Milly," Meryl said, sounding slightly exasperated.

            "Well, it would give you something to do in your free time, Sempai," she said innocently. "If you did some research on both of your backgrounds,"

            "Speaking of free time," Vash murmured, glancing at Milly. He looked over at me, then continued. "Milly's going to have an awful lot of it soon,"

            "I know," I said, picking up on the bait he'd clearly cast out.

            Milly looked up. "How do you know?"

            "Intuition," I said, smiling softly at her.

            'Wolfwood! I did not assign you to fraternize with spiders! You're supposed to kill Vash!'

            I gritted my teeth, Knives's voice again streaming through my brain.

            "Well, I thought Daniel or Rebekah would be excellent names, depending on what it is," Milly said brightly. I merely nodded.

            "What does the D stand for again?" Vash asked me.

            "You aren't going to learn that until I know your real name,"

            He put down his fork. "I'm not going to jinx this by saying what I said the last time you asked me that."

            "We don't have two Gung-Ho Guns on our tails this time, you know,"

            Milly and Meryl exchanged a glance, which clearly read 'When was this?'

            "All of them are dead," Vash murmured. "Except you, obviously,"

            "WHAT?" Milly screeched. I winced again.

            Meryl stared at me, with a suspicious look in her eyes.

            I looked over at Vash. How'd he know? I hadn't really become one until the day I'd supposedly died.

            "Knives," he said softly.

            I should have known.

            'Do as you are told, and you shall inherit my title,' Chapel's words repeated themselves inside my head.

            'Well, Chapel?' I heard Knives ask amusedly.

            "I think your brother's awake," I said icily. "Shall I go look?" I rose from my seat.

            "No," Vash said, challenging me. I didn't move.

            "Not alone, at least,"

            "Fine, then," I said, walking out of the kitchen. Vash followed me, leaving the girls to their own devices in the room.

            I walked up the stairs, unaided, though I relied heavily on the railing, and continued down the hall, stopping in front of the room next to the one Milly had left me in. Knives's.

            Vash opened the door slowly, and I brushed past him.

            "I wonder which is truly more pathetic: spiders, or my own brother," Knives said disgustedly. "'Best thing that ever happened to me,'" he mimicked his twin's voice, eyes flashing maliciously.

            "Glad to see you're awake," Vash said coldly.

            Knives raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure,"

            He turned to me. "Chapel, Chapel, Chapel. I really hope you are nothing like the man you inherited your title from. He was so broken up over your death."

            "I didn't die," I said, keeping my voice level, a talent I had perfected, at least in his presence. All the Gung-Ho Guns had learned it from Legato. It hid emotion and weaknesses, making us seem like impenetrable fortresses of human soul.

            "Clearly," he said, sounding amused. I turned and saw that Vash had left the room.

            "It really is a shame, though," he went on, examining his hands. I noticed bandages on his upper arms, and was sure that there were ones on his legs as well. I knew how Vash fought. Four corners to incapacitate, but not kill.

            "You've been influenced by my brother--not to kill. Pity, ten years of training from Chapel gone to waste,"

            "I didn't waste them, I just decided to do things my way," I said coldly, amazed that I was able to stand up to this man so easily. Even his own brother feared him, somewhat, and they were of the same species.

            "Chapel,"

            I bowed my head. We'd all learned this proverb, and Knives's amendment to it. I knew he wanted me to say it now.

            "The cornered mouse attacks the cat, even knowing that the cat has the upper hand," I muttered. Better to say it than challenge Knives's authority.

            "But the cat is wise to the mouse's ploy," he said, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. A smirk crossed his face. "The mouse seeks death to mask the pain,"

            I looked up. "You changed it, didn't you?"

            "Abbreviated it," he said, still smirking. "Haven't heard it since the former Chapel died. But, a spider awaits you downstairs. If you love her, go to her,"

            "Gladly," I said, getting up and leaving.

            "Cats and mice?" Vash asked, raising an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to spiders and butterflies?"

            "I'm not related to him," I said smarmily. "I don't deserve the insect analogy,"

            Vash shook his head. "I really knew when you told me where Knives was,"

            "I figured," I said, heading back down the stairs.

            "You don't have to be his puppet, you know," Vash said. The only reaction he got from me was a dismissive wave of my hand.

            Milly was standing out on the porch, gazing up at the sunset, which was casting gorgeous colors into the sky.

            "You take your coffee black, right?" she asked me airily as I leaned next to her on the porch railing.

            "I don't want any coffee," I said softly, stroking her hair. "I don't need that to keep me awake all night,"

            She smiled at me, her big blue eyes happy. I hadn't seen them that way in ages, but I'd gotten an overload of it in the last few hours.

            "If you're one of them," she asked, turning away, "why'd you kill so many of them? Zazie, Rai-dei, Leonof, Gray,"

            "How do you know this?"

            Her gaze was fixed on the suns, twin crescents on the horizon. "I just do,"

            I let my own vision fall upon the suns' descent. "I'm not sure. They'd just aggravated me."

            "Thou shalt not kill," she whispered.

            "I know," I murmured. "And I promised Vash I'd never kill anyone again,"

            "I know. He told us,"

            I let my arm fall to her shoulder, drawing her close to me. She still smelled faintly of sulfur.

            "What have you been doing?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.

            "I'm helping working on the well," she said. "It doesn't smell as bad as those horrible cigarettes. The explosives, I mean,"

            "I quit, Milly-chan," I said, nuzzling her neck. "I haven't had one in weeks,"

            We stood on the porch in silence until the moons were high in the sky. By instinct, my eyes traveled to the pink glow of the fifth moon. For so long, I looked up to it, as though it would lead me to Vash and the girls, back to the few things in this world that made me truly happy, the few things that didn't just mask the pain, burying it until it hit me square in the face.

            "Marry me, Milly," I whispered.

            She turned and stared at me. "What?"

            I looked into her deep blue eyes, an endless blue sky trapped within them. "Milly Thompson, will you please marry me?"

            'CHAPEL!'

            I pushed Knives's voice out of my head. He wasn't important now. He was also ruining this perfect moment.

            Milly kissed me softly.

            "I'll take that as a yes," I teased her softly. She nodded, her light brown hair hanging in her face.

            I kissed her back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eh, I know. Another short chapter. But, hey, I don't always like writing long, intense ones! I need something that's light at times.

Obviously, there's going to be an interesting plot twist regarding Wolfwood's *other* profession.

Thanks to Uozumi for giving me 'Rebekah' for a Wolfwood child!

Uh, yeah. I don't think that the cat and mouse thing is totally accurate, but I haven't seen episode 24 in a while.

Ecaep dna evol, Sunny!


	3. Mistrust

Wolfwood: ¬.¬_? I'll have you know that I had nothing to do with any of this.

Milly: Oh, Bokushi-san, don't be so mean! ^______________________^

Wolfwood: O.o_?

::Milly takes cigarette and stomps on it::

::scattered ashes form letters that read "Not owning Trigun"::

**Unmarked--Chapter Three**

            "Don't burn them, Tongari," I joked, watching Vash fry the eggs that were to be our breakfast.

            "Wolfwood, I know how to cook," the Humanoid Typhoon.

            "You know, you ruin our meal, and this household will become sixty billion double dollars richer,"

            "I'm sure," Vash said, lifting his left arm and releasing the machine gun. "Think again."

            "Never said I would be the one to pull the trigger,"

            Meryl appeared at the door. "Vash, your brother's asking for someone named 'Chapel'. Who's that?"

            I got up and drudged up the stairs.

            While it was really Milly's job to take care of Knives now, Meryl had taken over today, since my sweetheart was, well, coughing the remains of her dinner the night before into the toilet.

            "Are you feeling all right, my honey?" I asked, tapping on the door.

            "Better," she replied weakly from the other side. "At least you're here. I can't imagine how it would be without you,"

            I smiled to myself and continued down the hall to Knives's room.

            "What took so long?" he snapped. "Other servants were at my side the second I summoned them."

            "Forgive me for not being able to travel by whirlwind." I snapped. "I'm not your little lapdog like Legato was."

            Knives narrowed his icy blue eyes at me. "Chapel, you've learned not to get on my bad side. You should value the fact that you're still alive."

            "That's only because Evergreen was a horrible shot,"

            Knives snorted. "Bluesummers and Midvally would love to hear that."

            "Too bad neither of them are around to," 

            "Don't be so sure," Knives studied his hand and gnawed at a hangnail. I stared at him, waiting for his dismissal. While I didn't consider him my boss, I really did cherish the fact that I was still living, and I was sure the other people in this house did as well.

            "They are all dead." I told him. "Midvally was keeping tabs. Had them carved in the wall, each crossed out as they died."

            "Did he?" Knives asked, now sounding amused. "And how do you know this, Chapel?"

            "Well, if you were able to go to Dhmitri and check, you would see that the only names left unscathed are his own and Legato's,"

            "Midvally didn't know everything. None of you knew anything,"

            "Except Legato," I snapped. "He knew every last detail, and I'm sure he knew things about you as well."

            "Chapel, remove yourself from my sight now," Knives ordered. His voice was curt and smooth, but I knew anger was arising beneath the surface. Many of us had our own ideas of what was going on between him and Legato, especially Dominique, who played up to Legato to see if she could get any information, acting like a school girl with a crush, even though her sentimentality was directed more at Midvally, and it was reciprocated.

            I bowed out of the room and closed the door, meeting Meryl in the hallway. She was carrying a plate of toast and unburned eggs, as well as a glass of juice.

            "He's in a good mood," I told her. "For him at least,"

            "That's nice to know," she said, slipping past me. "Thank you, Chapel,"

            "Anytime, Stryfe," I muttered, watching her tiny body vanish through to doorway.

            Milly stood at the bottom of the stairs and sniffed, debating whether or not she'd attempt to eat breakfast. I rested my hands at her hips and nuzzled her neck.

            "Hello, Nicky-kun," she breathed. I kissed her on the cheek and brushed past her. She was starting to show a bit, but was still beautiful.

            "I love you, honey," I said, turning around and taking her hand. I led her to the kitchen anyway.

            "Wolfwood," Vash said, handing me a plate. I offered it to Milly, who promptly shook her head.

            "Have you considered working somewhere in town?" the Humanoid Typhoon. "I mean, Milly's been going into town occasionally to help with the well, Meryl works in the restaurant, and I'm working as a plant technician."

            "I already have a profession," I said bluntly. "And aren't the girls not supposed to have jobs on the side?"

            Meryl had walked in while I'd said that, and I could almost see her itching to correct my grammar.

            "True," she said, sitting down across from me. "But otherwise we wouldn't be able to cover the rent and doctor's fees, not to mention food."

            I nodded, understanding fully what it was not to have enough money. Thank the lord that I didn't have to pay the coroner back.

            Vash took the seat between Meryl and me and took a bite out of his toast. "I know you're a priest, but couldn't you take up another job on the side?"

            "According to your brother, he already has one," Meryl muttered, throwing me an icy glance.

            Milly's nervous gaze shifted from Meryl to me back to Meryl. I gave her a reassuring smile.

            "I do not work for Knives anymore," I informed the shorter insurance girl.

            "The twelfth Gung-Ho Gun," she returned. "How can we trust you any more than the others?"

            "You seemed to be rather trusting of Zazie," I argued, bringing up the child Gung-Ho Gun. Milly's eyes filled with tears, remembering how I'd killed him. I kept my gaze fixed on Meryl.

            "Bete was a child! He was crying in his sleep!"

            "He was one nevertheless!" 

            "Enough!" Vash said. "Meryl, please, we're just going to have to trust him! Wolfwood," He turned to me. "Either you take care of Knives and Milly goes back to the well for a few more weeks, or you can probably get a job in the restaurant. I know you can cook."

            "I'll look after Knives," I said, staring down at my food. "And I'll pick up work somewhere once Milly isn't able to any more,"

            Milly took my hand and squeezed it gently. I smiled at her, knowing she enjoyed working on the well. It did put me off slightly when she came home smelling of gunpowder and sulfur, but if it was getting water to everyone, it was fine with me.

            After we finished eating, Milly and Meryl headed out, but Vash stayed behind for a few minutes.

            "Wolfwood," he said, glancing towards the stairs, "just don't kill him, please."

            "What makes you think I'd do that?"

            "He ordered your death,"

            "And yours," I reminded him. "Or did you forget why he had Legato assemble the Gung-Ho Guns in the first place? He ordered it because you refused to be by his side, to aide him in his quest."

            "If I had, you wouldn't be standing here," Vash snapped. Changing demeanors, he said, "Tell Knives that one day he can come with me and see our sister."

            "Sister?"

            Vash sighed. "The plant in this town, Wolfwood,"

            I nodded and watched him walk out the door.

            "Are you leaving without saying good-bye?" I asked the empty room. A vague memory of the last time I said those words came back to me. I shook the thought from my head as I walked upstairs.

            I opened the door to Knives's room slightly and peeked in.

            "I didn't call for you, Chapel. You will know when I require your services. Now leave,"

            I silently closed the door and stood in the hall for a few minutes.

            "Chapel!"

            "That was awfully fast," I grumbled as I walked into Knives's room.

            "I don't need you to do anything," he snapped. "I have to ask something, though."

            "What?"

            "You and that spider, Milly," he smirked. "Procreation. Technically against my orders, Chapel,"

            I stared him dead in the eyes. "That had nothing to do with your assignment to me."

            "It was the general assignment to all the Gung-Ho Guns. You all were so easily won over by a little money,"

            I glared, but focused my eyes on the window frame. I'd needed the money for the orphanage, and when Chapel had approached me, telling me of two men who were offering vast amounts of money (at that point, it was sixty billion divided fourteen ways--Knives didn't want the bounty money--you do the math), I didn't hesitate.

            I wanted to bug Knives, something that would make him dismiss me from the room, so I asked another question that bothered me, even though it had a relatively obvious answer.

            "Knives, if you minimalized your contact with humans, save Legato of course," I started, watching his temple throb as I brought up Legato, "how was it that you always seemed to have bullets?"

            I could sense him wanting to throttle me, but he didn't move. "Legato provided them for me, and after his demise, I just stole them from ignorant passersby."

            "How did you pay Legato back? Bullets can get quite expensive."

            "Chapel, you are dismissed. Remove yourself immediately,"

            I did as he asked, bowing out of the room and shutting the door. Just to bother him a bit more, I started to sing just loud enough that he could hear me through the door.

            "So, on the third celestial evening,"

            "CHAPEL!" he bellowed. "Cease!"

            I stopped and walked down the stairs, smirking.

********

            I closed the door softly.

            "Nicky-kun," Milly whispered. I smiled and walked over to the chair she was sitting in, gazing out the window at the moons.

            "Hello, my honey," I said softly, kissing the base of her neck. "I love you,"

            Milly took my hand from her shoulder and moved it to her abdomen. "It kicked," she murmured.

            Sure enough, I felt a slight stirring beneath my hand, and I felt a shy smile creep across my face

            "I brought you something," I said, taking my other hand out from behind my back. In it was a dish of pudding, with a spoon.

            "Bokushi-san," she breathed, "Thank you,"

            "Anything, my love," I kissed her cheek softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I like to put in W/M fluff whenever possible! It makes me feel warm and gushy inside. And I'm not a mushy person, either.

As Wolfie said, bullets do get expensive. To quote a certain Humanoid Typhoon (episode 5, I think), "I could get all these pancakes for the same amount of money as a round of bullets." Note that he had a stack of pancakes about 2 feet high in front of him.


	4. Thankful

Sunny: Okay, I've been looking at the reviews, and I will answer all your questions *and* I will relate them into the stories.

Legato: And to the person who pointed out that Knives wanted Wolfwood to protect Vash, we're aware of that! But, if you pay close attention to episode 23, Chapel (NDW's guardian) informs Bokushi-san that the order has been retracted.

Midvally: And everything *will* make sense in the end, we promise.

::postcard from Meryl in the Bahamas--without Vash or Milly, might we add--reads "Don't forget to say that we don't own Trigun"::

(oh, yeah, I definately don't own what I like to call "Vash's Little Happy Song", which is also property of Nightgow-sama. But it's a darned funny song coming out of his mouth!)

**Unmarked--Chapter Four**

            I felt an elbow in my rib.

            "Bokushi-san," Milly whispered in my ear. "Listen."

            I sat up groggily, covering my eyes with my hands, blocking the little light dispersed by the moon. I don't like having my sleep interrupted, especially the dreamless brand.

            I could hear a soft giggle coming from another room.

            Meryl never struck me as the giggling type; I would be surprised if she even knew how.

            "It's so nice that Vash-san and Sempai love each other," Milly said, staring up at the ceiling. "It's nice having everyone be happy again,"

            "I love you, Milly-chan," I murmured, sliding back beneath the quilt on our bed.

            I heard Milly's reassurance that she loved me as well just as sleep's clutches stole me away from consciousness.

********

            I couldn't help but snicker the next morning as I sipped my coffee. Meryl shot me a particularly vicious glance, and Vash ignored me entirely.

            My eyes slid over to the shorter Insurance girl and I spotted Vash's mark peeking out of her collar. Meryl caught me looking at her and tugged at her shirt slightly, in a futile attempt to hide it.

            "Too late," I chuckled.

            'I'm sure Vash would be willing to share such an entertainment, since I'm sure you and Milly haven't been doing much lately,'

            My free hand slid over my eyes. It was too early to have Knives bothering me. I'd attend to him as soon as Vash and Meryl had left. Milly had to stop working now, but she didn't mind it, since I was around, and she would tell me tales of people she'd met with Vash and Meryl when I wasn't with them, as well as before I'd met her.

            'Chapel! I want you!'

            'So does Milly,' I thought complacently. I would have paid money to see the look on his face upon hearing such a thought.

            'Get your ass up here now, or I will have to summon someone to kill you again!'

            "And who might that be?" I snarled, getting up from the table.

            "Wolfwood," Vash glanced over at me, but didn't say anything more.

            "Total slaughter," the song Vash was singing a few days after I found him again rang through my head. Amusing myself, I sang it quietly.

            "I won't leave, a single man alive. La di dadi di, genocide. La di dada da, an ocean of blood."

            "CUT IT OUT!" a familiarly bitchy voice called from the kitchen.

            "Let's begin the killing time," I murmured, opening the door to Knives's room.

            "Interesting song, Chapel," his response had a slight perfunctory ring to it. "I must admit, that's the only song I've heard recently that appeals to me even slightly."

            "Insatiable blood lust, sir?"

            "Funny," his voice was dripping with sarcasm. "How dare you compare me to something of human legend,"

            "If you really want to know, your brother was the one who devised that song?"

            Knives's eyes suddenly resembled light glinting off of a silver sword. "Are you sure?"

            "I was present the first time he sang it."  And the last, but I didn't need to mention that.

            "There's hope for him yet,"

            The plant leaned back, deep in thought. I had a compulsion to run and find my cross, so I'd be able to blow him to smithereens.

            "_What the hell kind of churchman are you anyway?" Not a good one. I admit it._

            I cast my eyes around the room, looking for anything that would subdue Knives long enough for me to get out of the room alive.

            'You're thinking as though he poses some threat!' I chided myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a pentagonal object slightly larger than a human head. A-ha!

            I slowly inched over towards it, catching the rubber edge of the sole of my shoe along the bottom, lifting it just enough that I could pick it up.

            "Chapel!" Knives glanced over at me. "I have an assignment for you."

            "May I say something first?"

I watched the deep obvious nod of Knives's head and felt a smirk cross my face slightly. This would not be the first plant I'd pulled this stunt on.

"You're hurting like crazy on the inside, yet you grin and bear it."

"Chapel...those are human emotions."

I ignored the warning in his voice. "At least that's this man's opinion, anyway. That's why I have this confessional!" I screamed, slamming the box on his head. In the split second it took him to realize what had happened, I was already out of the room and halfway down the stairs.

            "CHAPEL!!!!!!!!" He screamed.

            "Do I want to know?" Meryl asked, halfway out the door.

            "Just met up with an old friend, per se,"

            I felt Milly's arm wrap my own. "Oh Nicky-kun," she sighed. "You're so funny."

********

            "Calm down!" Vash clasped my shoulders in a death-grip. "She'll be fine. Milly's stronger than most women, and they all live through it,"

            "My own mother didn't,"

            "Milly will, I promise,"

            A shrill wail came from the other side of the door, the room where Milly, Meryl, and the town doctor were presently locked in.

            A few minutes later, and all ten fingernails bitten off, Meryl stuck her head out the door. "You can come in,"

            It was as though I'd forgotten how to walk; my legs didn't want to move, yet at the same time they felt as though they'd been turned into gelatin.

            "One foot in front of the other," Vash said, pushing me forward slightly.

            I peeked in to see Milly sitting calmly, her hair and face damp with sweat, two infants nestled in her arms.

            "Nicky-kun," she breathed quietly. I heard the door close behind me, and looked back to see that we were alone.

            "They're so much like you," she went on, sliding over slightly. I sat gingerly on the edge of the bed next to her, taking one of the newborns, a girl, my flesh-and-blood daughter, into my own arms.

            "They're beautiful, my honey," I whispered.

            "That one will be Rebekah Nicole Meryl Wolfwood," Milly stroked the cheek of the one she held. "And this, her brother, is Daniel Nicholas Vash Wolfwood,"

            "Perfect,"

            I was apt to agree with anything right now, holding this tiny miracle. 

            The twins were adorable, both with fine jet black hair, and eyes the same crystalline blue as the sky outside.

            I studied Rebekah closely, noticing a birthmark in the crook of her elbow. Squinting, I realized it looked somewhat like a heart.

            "Nicky-kun, look," Milly gently brushed some of Daniel's hair away from his right ear. "It looks like a cross, don't you think?"

            "So it does,"

I was eternally grateful to Almighty God for letting me live that day, so I could be here now, with further living proof of His grace and love for this forsaken place.

            Maybe it was so that there was no place worse than this planet, and we would have Knives to thank for our being here, ultimately, but right now, I couldn't think of any better place. Even Eden wouldn't be quite as good, because Milly wouldn't have been there.

            "I love you, my preciouses," I murmured, not caring whether it was a real word or not right now. I was here, with something I'd never had in my life--a family of my own.

§§§§§§§§

            There sat two men on the rooftop of the house, listening to the conversations below, between Wolfwood and Milly, Vash and Meryl, and the amazingly animated one that Knives appeared to be having with himself.

            One of the men vanished within a vortex, just to reappear minutes later with a woman with long dark brown hair.

            These three sat on the rooftop, basking in the sunlight.

            Knives, in his room, suddenly stopped talking, as he heard a faint saxophone tune drift in his open window.

            A smile crept across his face.

            "At last," he whispered. "At last,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egad! What are these people doing on the roof? Who are they in the first place? And if they are who we think they are, aren't they supposed to be...dead?

Then again...our favorite representative of God on Earth-der-Gunsmoke was also supposed to be dead.

Are you glad the twins have arrived? Don't they sound cute?

Again, I'd like to thank Uozumi for helping me pick a name for the girl (my other ideas were Rachael, Heather, or Chloe).

You know the drill. Review if you want more!

P.S. In a future chapter, there will be a VERY technical explanation for the people on the roof. Scary things happen when I start getting overly critical watching shows.


	5. Middle of the Night

Sunny: OK, I'm trying to work on GSH, as well as Inlay, D. Theatre, and Fading. (Also working on the sequel to Results May Vary, for the people who are begging me for it. I'll be posting that as an independent story and removing it from WTFE soon.)

Unfortunately, I'm suffering a vast writer's block. Chapter 7 of Inlay has been sitting on my hard drive since the beginning of September, untouched. As for DT, I've got the idea, I just need to sit down and write it.

But, this shouldn't be about those. This is about Unmarked, the only story I'm doing right now that is actually attached to the series...heh.

Midvally: Anyhow, due to the overly-whacked imagination of Sunny, this is actually going to end up going the same way as Purest of Pain, sans the death of two people and the random songfic chapters. 

Sunny: If you didn't notice, I took that story down because I hated how it was, but I liked the general premise...

Wolfwood: If my brother and the author would shut up, I'd like to point out that we don't own Trigun and we'd better get on with the chapter.

Sunny: One more thing: PEOPLE! Please stop being so nit-picky about my interpretation of Trigun! It's my view of it, and how I saw the way things work! If my continuity is screwed, I'm sorry. But the way _I think things worked out is exactly that: what I think._

**Unmarked--Chapter 5**

            I lifted Rebekah out of the cradle she shared with her brother and carried her to the window, staring out at the multi-colored moonlight cast down on the land. The infant nestled herself in my arms and cooed softly.

            In the two months it had been since the twins' arrival, Milly had taken over my job of attending to Knives, as well as taking care of the children. Myself, I was now acting as general security for the town, as there were still bandits out there, as well as bounty hunters and general criminals.

            Something was starting to feel wrong. Knives's ambiguity about the death of his minions, true, could be passed off with his utter distaste for the human race, but the way he acted, it was as though they were really still alive.

            Milly had told me of how Vash had gone back on his promise to the woman who raised him, and killed Legato, as well as Midvally's suicide. Both had clearly struck the Humanoid Typhoon deeply, even though all seemed to be out to kill him.

            Stroking Rebekah's hair, which reminded me of black feathers (A/N: I did my background checks, there are real birds on Gunsmoke. Check out episode 10, unless those are further examples of Leonof's puppets...sorry to interrupt like that), I gazed out to the street below, expecting to see only shadows.

            Instead, I saw three vaguely familiar forms, however androgynous in the darkness.

            "Nicky-kun, what are you looking at?"

            I turned and looked at Milly, sitting up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Nothing, my honey. I just thought I saw someone out there,"

            True to my word, when I looked back, there was no one there. I had probably imagined it.

            "Nicky, if someone's there, Vash-san will know."

            I nodded and carried Rebekah back to the twins' cradle, pausing to stroke Daniel's cheek. The boy turned slightly towards my hand, smacking his lips softly.

            "Are you all right?" Milly asked softly as I returned to bed. I nodded slightly.

            "Just not used to having them sleep through the night?"

            Again, I nodded. Between the two of them, I'd lost about three hours of sleep per night on average. It was making me long for the days before I'd supposedly died, when I would traverse the planet alone, or at times with Vash and the Insurance girls.

            I heard soft voices coming from nearby outside, and passed them off as teenage lovers meeting late at night.

§§§§§§§§

            Vash the Stampede sat straight up and slipped silently out of his bed. Striding cautiously towards the window, his aquamarine eyes scrutinized the landscape. Gently, so as not to wake Meryl, he slid it open and stuck his head outside. He could see no sign of life, nothing at all. He made himself close his eyes, to avoid looking up at the moon.

            "I don't remember," he whispered silently.

            "Vash?" Meryl's worried voice came from right behind him. "What's wrong?"

            "Something's out there," the Humanoid Typhoon said quietly, taking himself back inside and closing the window. "I felt it. Something or someone is out there."

            Meryl's gray eyes had fear etched within them. "A bounty hunter?"

            Vash shook his head. "It's almost as though it's a Gung-Ho Gun--"

            "But they're all dead! You killed the most dangerous of them yourself!"

            "And watch many of the others die, most at their own hands,"

            Meryl regarded him with the silent stoicism she had long since reserved for when Vash spoke of death or his past.

            "Something's out there," Vash repeated. "And it's very close nearby. And after something,"

            "You,"

            He looked back out the window. "Something else, I think. Something that would hurt someone a lot more,"

§§§§§§§§

            Three people appeared at the foot of Knive's bed, seemingly out of nowhere. No doors or windows had been opened, and no one in the house had left their rooms.

            Two men and a woman stood, as though awaiting instruction. One of the men was wearing a black suit and a pink dress shirt, his black hair slicked back, while the other wore a dark shirt and pants beneath a long white trench coat that had a skull on one sleeve and spikes sticking out at odd angles on the other. The man in white was also wearing a fingerless glove on his right hand and had a strange attribute, blue hair.

            The woman, who had hidden herself slightly behind the man with the pink shirt, was dressed in a shirt, pants, and coat the color of the sand, with a hat of the same hue in her hands. Over her right eye was a metal eyepatch of sorts.

            "Dominique, you have again proved your skill," Knives said softly.

            "Not even your feather-brained brother saw through it this time," the Psyclops said, the ice in her voice intermingled with slight humor.

            "That is because he believes the three of you are dead. He is presently becoming a nervous wreck due to your presence."

            Legato stroked his left hand gently, raised it to his lips, and licked it like a cat grooming itself. "It is a joy to be in your presence again, master,"

            "How many others have been found?"

            "Just Leonof, sir, and, as you know, Chapel's boy" he bowed his blue-coifed head, letting the dark hair shield his striking golden eyes.

            Midvally spoke softly, "I investigated rumors of Zazie, Rai-Dei, and Grey's life. All of them, dead,"

            "No matter," Knives waved it away with a dismissive gesture. "Garbage. Only good for consuming resources,"

            He shot a loathesome glare at the three assembled at his feet, in case it was unclear that he considered them wretched as well.

            "I understand, master," Legato said solemnly, raising his left arm. "I am still working to cause Vash the Stampede eternal pain and suffering,"

            "Unfortunately, your little death trick did not work, Legato," Knives went on, his voice dripping with distaste and malice. "Possibly a month afterwards, just before he felt compelled to render me immobile indefinitely, he somehow redeemed himself and does not feel as though he regrets it anymore."

            "A few more minutes, and those bitches would have died," Dominique muttered.

            "I am aware of that, Dominique!" Knives snapped. "Legato, you were careless. Yes, it was merely a puppet, but you should have delayed your alleged death, so those girls would have been out of the way. I fear it was one, or even both, of them who changed his view and redeemed him from his misery.

            "But you know what to do now. Unless Legato has intended for me to inform you,"

            "I told them, master,"

            "Leave,"

            The three Gung-Ho Guns bowed and retreated, passing Wolfwood and Vash in the hall.

§§§§§§§§

            I couldn't fall back asleep, so as soon as Milly'd returned to the innocent world of her dreams, I slipped into the hallway.

            Vash was leaning on the door outside of the room he shared with Meryl, on the other side of the hall. I walked down towards him.

            "You felt it, too?" he asked quietly.

            I shook my head. "I saw someone, and heard voices,"

            The Humanoid Typhoon nodded, clenching his right fist. I watched a machine gun break out of his other arm. He stared past me, concentrating on the door to Knive's room then trailing to the stairs

            "I thought I told you to wear a skirt next time," he whispered. "Not that you're caring,"

            "WHAT?" I asked.

            Vash loosened his hand and the gun retracted into his arm. "Never mind,"

            "What's going on?"

            He shook his head. "I really hope I imagined that,"

            "What?"

            Vash just turned around and walked back into his room.

            'Chapel!'

            I trudged into Knives's room. He looked disturbingly smug.

            "What is it?" I asked, overemphasizing my aggravation.

            "Don't act like I dragged you out of bed. I know you've been up, for well over an hour now, Chapel,"

            I scanned the room.

            "And don't think you can slam your fancy little box on my head again. It's been dealt with,"

            I smelt smoke faintly from far away, as well as heard a soft, slow song.

            "So, on the second enchanted evening," I sang along softly.

            "SILENCE!"

            I bit my tongue shutting my mouth. Oddly, the song stopped too.

            "Dismissed,"

            I nodded and bowed out of the room.

********

            "Two coffees. One black and one polluted,"

            Meryl glared at me. "You know, Mr. Wolfwood, you could act like something less of a baka once in a while."

            "Any suggestions?"

            "You could say please once in a while," she whirled away in her french-maid style work uniform. "And not refer to Vash's coffee preference as polluted,"

            "But it is," I protested as she handed me two cups of the steaming liquid.

            I slammed $$5 on the counter and left the restaurant before she could snap at me more.

            "Thanks," Vash murmured, sitting on the steps outside the plant, as I handed him his overly diluted coffee. I sat down next to him and drank my own.

            "You saw someone last night." I finally said. "Who?"

            "I thought I saw someone," he corrected. "Looking back, I most likely didn't, because I know for a fact that she's dead. I saw her hanging from a wall in Augusta,"

            I almost dropped my coffee. "I thought you didn't remember..."

            "I remember that. It was before. It's one of the last things, though."

            Vash gazed up at the plant. "Be calm, little sister,"

            I got up, leaving him to his job, which really just entailed sitting around and being there if the plant suddenly malfunctioned. He was the only person in the town who understood it.

            My general security job had me frequently wandering the town, but I would frequently stop in front of the tiny church there. It was smaller than the ones in the cities or even in Tonim, with four rows of pews on each side, facing a small altar.

            I pulled one of the heavy doors open and leaned on it, gazing at the stained glass rainbows cast upon the tiny chapel. Today, I'd felt confident enough to leave my cross behind, at home, and was just carrying one of the little six-shooters that was stowed away in the branches.

            "Interesting effect it has upon you,"

            I turned to see a woman with long, dark brown hair sitting on the steps. Her back was to me, but I saw that she was wearing a simple blue dress.

            "I may not look it, but I'm a priest," I simply replied.

            "One who carries weaponry with him at all times? I don't see that as the mark of a clergyman."

            "Unfortunately, we live in a dangerous world," Who had I said those words to before?

            "Nothing to do about that,"

            I blinked, and she was gone, not even the slightest inclination that there may have been someone there.

§§§§§§§§

            From the roof of the house where his master was being held a prisoner of sorts, Legato smiled. The plan would be put into effect soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egad! So these GHGs are not dead at all. What will become of this? ::faints::

Well, actually, I know how they're not all dead.

And why are they here in the first place? What does Knives want with them.

Well, I'd tell you, but that would ruin the story!

--Sunny


	6. Legato sat on the roof and smiled

::Chibi Trigun cast all wearing cute lil Santa hats::

Legato: Oh god now there's a mental image for you...

Sunny: This is the thanks I get for kidnapping you and bringing you home?

Midvally: ::holds up sprig of mistletoe:: You bet sweet cheeks.

We don't own Trigun...or Christmas! ^_^

We're hyper today....

**Unmarked--Chapter Six**

            Legato Bluesummers leaned backwards and felt the cool clay of the roof beneath his back. In his mind's eye, he could see Dominique sneaking in to the house beneath him.

            He bit his tongue harder so he could concentrate on what she was doing and not be blinded by the Demon's Eye.

            Midvally was sitting on the edge of the rooftop, and he put Sylvia to his lips and played a slow but slightly jovial jazz tune.

§§§§§§§§

            I sat up suddenly. Someone else had to be in this room, and I swore I heard one of the twins crying.

            I slipped out of bed and walked over to the cradle. Daniel was sitting up and playing with the stuffed cat that Milly had made some months before.

            "Hey there, kiddo," I said softly, hoisting my son up into the air. Oddly, he did not giggle or shriek as he usually would when I did this. I attributed it to his being tired. The twins were usually sleeping through the night now.

            'Enjoy it while it lasts, Chapel,'

            I almost dropped Daniel upon hearing the voice inside my head. It wasn't Knives, and it surely wasn't my own conscience.

            Placing the now sleeping boy back in the cradle, I walked over to my cross and hoisted it on my back, making sure not to wake the twins or Milly.

            'Going to kill me, are you? Try your luck,'

            "Where are you?" I hissed.

            'Come and find me. It shouldn't be too hard for a bounty hunter of your caliber,'

            I gave up that life. I gave it up for Milly, for Vash, even for that bitch Meryl. I was just a priest now, even though I must have been iles away from December and therefore the orphanage.

            However, what had been ingrained in my soul was still there. I couldn't go back on ten years of my life. I knew how to find someone when I had nothing of them. Hell, that's how I found and killed Leonof. It was how I found Vash again after the incident at Augusta.

            I could find him.

            'Don't be so sure,'

            "Where are you?" I had temporarily forgotten the situation and screamed.

            Within seconds, both twins had awakened and started to cry, and the light in the room had been flicked on. Milly picked up our daughter and started to hush the screaming child, and Meryl soon hurried over to console Daniel.

            Vash stood in the doorway and stared at me. I must have been a sight, standing in the middle of the room with only a pair of trousers on and my hand on one of the straps on my cross.

            "Wolfwood," he said softly. "What's going on?"

            I shook my head and pushed past him, out of the room, out of the house.

********

            Vash found me sitting on the steps of the church again.

            "Didn't you feel it?" I asked suddenly. "For a second, it felt as though there was someone else in the house, besides us.

            "The last time I felt it that strongly was when _he_ came."

            I didn't need to elaborate who 'he' was. Vash understood that I meant Chapel, when my former mentor came to kill me.

            "Something felt wrong. Something had been changed,"

            Vash shook his head. "Everyone was there. No one else was in the house, and no one was on the roof."

            I looked up at him. "You looked on the roof,"

            "It was my first guess. I thought I'd seen someone there a few weeks ago, the day you told me about the woman who vanished in front of the church,"

            Vash paused for a second, seeming to be deep in thought.

            "The woman, did she have a patch on one eye?"

            I racked my brain and finally shrugged. I never saw her face.

            "Why?"

            Vash shuddered. "I know she's dead, but I can't help but wonder,"

            "Wonder what?"

            He stood and picked up my cross. "If there's another Gung-Ho Gun still wandering around out there,"

********

**ten**** years later**

            "Daddy, can I have another piggy-back ride?"

            I looked down at the little pixie standing before me. Rebekah, at ten, was thin as a rail, and had wispy black hair that constantly hung in her light blue eyes. The black cat that frequently hung around our home wove in and out of her legs.

            I turned around, stooped, and she climbed on my back. Her twiggy arms looped themselves around my neck and she shrieked with laughter as I raised her into the air.

            In the corner of the room, Daniel looked up, his typical aloof air about him.

_            "You're gonna look just like your daddy when you grow up," Milly announced, buttoning __Daniel__'s shirt. "You're already tall and thin just like him,"_

_            Rebekah twirled around in a circle, showing off her new dress. "I'm gonna marry Daddy when I grow up," she announced, in the light-hearted voice that all children under the age of six seemed to posess._

            I smiled at the memory as I carried my daughter out of the room. It had been six years ago, but it was just so precious.

            Milly and I had moved out of the house that we'd shared with Vash, Meryl, and Knives when the twins were three and Milly had become pregnant again, realizing that we were going to need more room than the small house would provide.

            Now, we were just a few short blocks away, closer to the church, which I'd started holding services in once a month.

            I took Rebekah into the kitchen, where Milly was making dinner, and Ruth, our third child, was placing plates on the table. David, who was just two, (the last one, I swear) was balanced on my wife's hip while she stirred a pot of steaming noodles.

            Rebekah let go of my neck and I slowly let her down to the floor.

            "Mommy!" she said, running over to Milly and giving her a hug. "Uncle Vash came home today."

            Vash had been making occasional journies out to other town and cities as a plant technician, and on his last trip had gone out to December.

            "And guess what!" Rebekah said as Milly handed her little brother off to her. "He brought back a little boy with him from the orphanage out there. Auntie Meryl was so surprised!"

            I looked at Milly over our children's heads and raised an eyebrow. A few years ago, Meryl and Vash had brought back a brother and sister from December, when they had gone for what they called "their own reasons". I had a feeling this pertained to Meryl showing up at Bernardelli headquarters to prove that she and Milly were still alive, not blown to bits by Vash the Stampede, who hadn't done anything catastrophic since he'd been dragged around town by a truck.

            I knew this meant Vash would be coming any moment now to invite us over for dinner.

            "Wolfwood?"

            Predictable.

            "Hey, Chapel, where you hiding?"

            I rolled my eyes and walked out to the living room, where Vash and Knives, who was still using crutches, despite his prosthetic right leg and the left one healing entirely, were standing.

            Daniel looked up at Knives and smiled slightly. The only time I ever saw him smile aside from this was when he saw a couple about my age sitting in the shadows beneath the plant. It had unnerved me greatly.

            He'd been a secretive child, and his mother's affirmations that he looked just like me seemed to aggravate him to no end. I didn't understand him at all, but I knew that some children were just like that. There had been a few in the orphanage, and he also reminded me of that boy, Neil.

            "Why's _he here?" I asked Vash._

            He narrowed his aqua eyes at me. "Wolfwood, he's my brother."

            "You don't trust him alone with Chad and Amy," I translated, naming the children he and Meryl had adopted. Chad, the elder of the two, was eleven, a bit older than the twins, and Amy was seven, and Ruth's best friend. 

            "I hope Milly wasn't planning anything too spectacular for dinner," Vash said, ignoring my comment while Knives stared at me maliciously. "Because Meryl and I thought we'd invite your family over,"

            Milly appeared at the doorway to the kitchen. "Why, thank you Vash-san," she said sweetly. "That sounds like it would be wonderful,"

            "Besides," Vash said, whispering to me, "I have to speak to you."

********

            Knives, as usual, was hiding in his room. But no one noticed that he was absent.

            Milly and Meryl were talking about something as Meryl was typing something, and the children were all playing together. Well, except Daniel, who was holed up in a corner reading something.

            Vash and I moved out to the porch.

            "I'm almost positive I heard Knives talking to someone the other day," Vash said, staring up at the fifth moon. "And I swear, it sounded just like Legato. I've also been noticing evidence of dust storms around town, which, as you know, is his preferred mode of travel,"

            "How's he managing that?" I asked snippily. "You killed him over eleven years ago,"

            Vash sighed. "I'm starting to think that he survived the shot,"

            "No one survives a gunshot to the head. It's physically impossible."

            "I can't help but wonder,"

            "Vash, he's dead,"

            Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel duck below the windowsill. "Excuse me, but I have to go and speak to my son," I said, heading back inside.

            I sat down next to Daniel, who instantly shirked away from my presence.

            "I just want to look at something." I said quietly, pushing a few locks of hair away from his right ear.

            The little cross birthmark had vanished.

            It's very true that it had just faded with time, but I was curious.

            "Rebekah," I said, waving her over. She pranced over to me. "Can I just see your left elbow?"

            She looked at me quizzically as she pushed her shirt sleeve up past her elbow. Sure enough, the little heart birthmark was still there.

            I nodded. "Thank you, sweetheart,"

            She smiled and scurried back to her mother's side, taking Erick, the boy Vash had just brought home into her lap.

            How strange...

            "I'm going home," Daniel said, standing up.

            I stood up after him.

            "I can find the way. I'm not a baby," he said without turning around. I followed him to the porch and watched until he reached the porch of our house.

§§§§§§§§

            Daniel Wolfwood sat on the railing of the porch of his house, shielding his eyes from the dust that swirled up. He nodded at the three people before him.

            "Have you found it?" the blue-haired man asked. Daniel merely shook his head.

            "It's too well hidden. I'm starting to think it's at the plant,"

            The woman shook her head. "I would have found it by now."

            "Knives said the spiders and his brother know where it is," the black-haired man grabbed Daniel. "You will find out where it is. We need it."

            Daniel just nodded. "I'll find it, Father, don't worry."

            The black-haired man smiled, loosening grip. "In time, I'll have reason to be proud of you. Then you can come back to us,"

            Daniel smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uh....okay....weird....

--Sunny

This is my uber-holiday present to all me fans! Hope you enjoyed! ^_^


	7. Nightmare

Ooh, I love psycho plot twists...::twiddles fingers maniacally::

I don't own Trigun!

Let's hear it for brilliant ideas on behalf of Knives!

(to Uozumi: yeah, Middy and Legato do like being like Chapel and Vash--however, they've got enough sense not to fall _off_ the roof)

Also, if you've read the second chapter of Fine Wine, you'll recognize the memory. It's just from a different point of view. I like linking my stories together like this. ^_^

**Unmarked--Chapter Seven**

            I fastened the padlock on the trunk that stowed my cross and Milly's stun-gun, pocketing the key. I was wary of the kids getting near them now, especially Daniel, who'd indulged in a recent fascination with stories of our travels with Vash, and especially what had happened during the Fifth Moon incident and when Vash killed Legato

            He would have asked Vash himself what had happened in Augusta, but he didn't have even the slightest clue of what had happened.

            Typical.

            Milly was playing a rousing game of "Patty Cake" with David, while Rebekah read to Ruth. Daniel was holed up in the corner, sketching.

            "Whacha drawing?" I asked him, kneeling down to his level.

            "Something," he said quietly.

            I glanced at it out of the corner of my eyes and suddenly felt as though the room had turned to ice.

            He was sketching Midvally, someone he'd never seen, someone he'd never known.

            Someone I'd spent a good part of my life trying to forget.

            I'd tried to forget all of my family.

********

_            A self-satisfied smirk crossed my face as the shot resounded through our little house. Seven years old and already a gunfighter. I was proud of myself._

_            I twirled my fingers in the smoke rising from the gun as my younger brother, __Nathan__, burst in. I noticed that I was breathing heavier than I ever had in my life._

_            He grabbed my shirt as I turned to leave the house._

_            "__Nicholas__? What's happened? What's going on?"_

_            I just kept walking to the front door, then turned to take a last look at him, in the rumpled clothes that he'd been sleeping in. "Go away, __Nathan_. Get out of here,"__

********

            I shook my head. We were only brothers by blood, and that had ended that day, over thirty years ago. Besides, Vash could personally vouch for the death of Nathan Midvally. No emotions crossed me when I'd learned of his death.

            Besides, his brother had died long ago, when he'd pulled the trigger of the Derringer.

            It was way too easy.

            "Nicholas," Milly placed her hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to the present. Daniel had escaped, probably when I'd spaced. He'd been vanishing way too often lately.

            "I'm fine," I shrugged Milly off.

            She shook her head. "It's not that," she said. "I just thought I should mention something to you,"

            I stared at her, blankly, then felt my legs lead me of their own accord towards the couch and set my body down there. Milly sat down next to me.

            She stared down at her hands. "I don't think Rebekah's aware of it, but I saw her kissing Chad this afternoon, while we were at Sempai's."

            I twitched. "Both of them are a little young for that," Besides, Chad acted way too much like Vash. It unnerved me most of the time.

            Milly distracted me from the tiny nightmares running across my face. "I know they are, but I thought I'd want to draw your attention towards it."

            There are times when Milly's much smarter than she appears to be, one of the things I love most about her.

            'Chapel!'

            My master's voice...I put my head in my hands.

            "Are you all right?" she asked. "There really isn't much either of us can do about it except possibly mention it to her,"

            I shook my head. "I left something over at Vash's." I got up and started heading for the door.

            "Could I go with you?" Daniel reappeared behind me, actually saying something directly to me without me speaking to him first. I turned and stared, catching a look of disbelief on my honey's face as well.

            "I want to ask Uncle Vash something," he said. "And there's something I wanna tell Chad,"

            There was another first. If Daniel spoke to anyone in that house, it was Vash or Knives, usually the latter.

            If that man intends on rebuilding the Gung-Ho Guns...

            I shook the thought from my mind and nodded, waving my son towards me. Daniel brushed past and walked in a hurried pace the few blocks to the quiet (using the word lightly) home of Vash the Stampede.

            When I walked through the door, the first thing I saw was Vash's eyes darkening a shade and Meryl about ready to bolt.

            "What happened to them?" Daniel insisted. "The guns, I mean,"

            "Daniel Nicholas," I said suddenly. "Go home,"

            My son turned back and tossed me a glare not unlike ones that Knives had been known to use. I held back the urge to slap him, but grabbed both of his slender wrists in one hand and stooped to his level. "Daniel, you will say what you want to Chad and you will return home. And when you go home, you will go right to your room and not leave it unless your mother needs you."

            I hate disciplining my children, but sometimes, they just pushed the limits. I released him and he scurried up the stairs of the house.

            "Did you come here to get him, or is there another reason?" Vash said as I rose to meet his gaze.

            "Originally, there hadn't been, except to get out of the house," Actually, I was really going to head to the bar. The thought of Rebekah with Vash's son, despite the obvious fact that Chad wasn't his biologically, was enough to make me want to drink. Or smoke. "But now, I need to know myself. Where is it?"

            As far as I knew, Vash's Colt .45, as well as his brother's identical gun, was still buried in the crater where Meryl'd found me all those years ago.

            Oh, that brought back fond memories...

            Well, not really.

            Vash glanced over at Meryl, who was suddenly fascinated with a hangnail, letting her short black hair hang in her face.

            "Meryl-chan?"

            I resisted the urge to snicker. Meryl was small enough that I was starting to wonder how much longer it would be before her children were taller than her.

            Vash looked back at me. "My gun is here, and I personally took the liberty of stripping down Knives's gun and destroying all the pieces."

            "How long has it been here?"

            "Since we got Chad and Amy," Meryl said quietly.

            Vash gestured for me to follow him up to the room he and Meryl shared. As we passed Chad's room, I heard my son snap at him. "You keep away from my sisters!"

            I rolled my eyes and Vash tossed me a mildly interested look.

            "Rebekah," I murmured quietly and he nodded.

            Vash pulled the old case that Meryl's typewriter was once stored in off the highest shelf in their closet. Keeping his voice so low I could barely hear him, he said, "I've locked it up and keep the key on me at all times."

            Following his lead and keeping my own voice just slightly audible, I asked, "Aren't you afraid Knives will get his hands on it?"

            "Yes," Vash stared at the ground. "And I have no idea if he knows it's here or not,"

            I don't know which thought frightened me more: Knives getting his hands on his brother's gun, or Knives forcing his brother to use his gun.

            "For now, I just hope he can't reach it,"

            Vash stood on the very tips of his toes and pushed the case as far back as possible. While he didn't have any height on his brother; it actually appeared that Knives was taller than his twin. However, Knives couldn't even stand without the assistance of crutches, despite having his prosthesis for nearly ten years. He'd just never been able to adjust to it.

            What really mystified me, though, was if Knives had been able of withstanding the full blast of Vash's Angel Arm when he destroyed July, how come he couldn't stand an indirect shot through his leg.

            Of course, Knives's had had twenty-something years to recuperate after July. Hell, the first time I ever saw the guy, he was still regenerating in a plant. I guess Vash hadn't given his brother that option this time around.

            I nodded and made the short trip home.

            Milly gave me an odd look when I came in the house, but I just kissed her gently and headed to the kitchen and took out a bottle of brandy from the back of the pantry.

            "Who's drinking?" I asked her quietly, holding up the bottle.

            Milly loves to drink almost as much as I do, though she never does it just to rid her mind of thoughts.

            "I am!" she joked, reminescent of a time when the four of us had just stayed up and joked around, knocking them back.

            Well, the girls had stayed until Milly started stripping, at which point Meryl tossed her cloak over her and led her from the room.

            I kissed her again, a bit more intensely this time, and we headed upstairs.

********

            I slid away from whatever it was that was poking me.

            It persisted.

            I rolled over and opened my eyes to see what it was.

            Or who it was, rather.

            Rebekah kneeled beside the bed. "Daddy?"

            I raised my head slightly, a sharp pain rushing through it. Milly and I had made short work of the brandy, and I had a feeling I was going to be feeling it tomorrow morning.

            "I had a bad dream," she whispered.

            "Nicky-kun?" Milly murmured, still half-asleep. How is it that I'm always the one woken up by our children?

            I sat up. "What happened?" I asked my elder daughter softly, scooting over so she could sit next to me.

            She drew her knees up to her chest, straightening her nightgown over them with typical ten-year-old modesty.

            "Well, Mommy was sitting in a room with Auntie Meryl, and she was pressing her hands over her ears as though she didn't want to hear something," Rebekah glanced at Milly, who had opened her eyes at mention of her name. "And then I ran outside to see you being chased, with your big cross, by a man with another cross,"

            She paused for a second, looking up at me with huge blue eyes just like Milly's. I shivered slightly, but nodded for her to go on.

            "I followed you and the man vanished, but then these big boxes fell from the roof of a building and the man was inside them, and he sent you into another building. Then, he lit the building on fire," Rebekah lowered her eyes to the sheets beneath her. "That's when I woke up,"

            I turned and glanced at Milly, who buried her face in a pillow.

            "Rebekah," I said softly. "Do you think you'll be able to fall back asleep?"

            She looked up at me again. "Could I read for a little bit?"

            "Yes," Milly murmured. "But not too long, and don't wake Ruthie,"

            I got off the bed, picked up Rebekah, and carried her back to her room. She slid out of my arms and pulled a flashlight and book off of her bedside table and buried herself under her quilt. (Milly took the time to make one for each of our children, and one for us) I saw a small circle of light showing through the light blue patchwork, then quietly closed the door, taking care not to wake my other daughter.

            Milly was sitting straight up when I returned to our room.

            "That's what happened that day, isn't it?" she asked me quietly. All I could do was nod. It wasn't all that happened, but some of the events.

            Eventually, she just fell back asleep, but I stayed up. I swear to God I could hear a saxophone playing somewhere.

            Finally, I got out of bed again, slipping into a pair of shoes, and pulled on my jacket.

            It had been a while since I'd taken midnight strolls, but the music was enticing me. I knew it couldn't have been coming from the bar, or even the brothel a few miles outside of town.

            It was coming from the direction of the plant.

            So that's where I went.

            The jazz tune was slow and brooding, and, as I drew near, I could see a woman dancing with a young child, as another man sat on the steps of the plant, watching the scene.

            "Subordinate," the man who was sitting made a gesture to the one playing the saxophone.

            But he was speaking to me.

            "Chapel, you are a subordinate," the man rose and walked towards me. "Come here,"

            I froze.

            "Chapel, you will come here right now,"

            I turned and ran, but ended up tripping over my own two feet. A hand clasped my shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eeep...I think Nicky's stumbled across something he didn't want to see.

Stay tuned!

--Sunny


	8. This is the end

All I can say is: Here's the next chappy! ^_^ ::is singing Superman by five for fighting...now there's a song we haven't heard in a while::

Not owning Trigun. (But I do own a wall scroll with Legato the Gorgeous on it!)

**Unmarked--Chapter 8**

            I panicked. That voice was all too familiar.

            I felt a hand on my arm, which gradually pulled me up until I was nearly eye-to-eye with a man who I'd seen a few times before. I was just slightly taller than him.

            Which definitely helped my confidence. I don't know how I'd feel about being shorter than my younger brother.

            "Nicholas," he said quietly, staring at me. His hazel eyes stared out at me. "Why are you here?"

            But he was not my brother...there was no way. Vash confirmed his death, being privy to it.

            "Who are you?" I hissed, breaking my arm free of him.

            "Nathan Midvally," his gaze floated to the ground. "Your brother,"

            I started to walk away from him. "I don't have a brother, anymore,"

            "You can't deny family," he said sharply as I continued to get further and further away from him. "It's something you have forever, whether you know it or not."

            I felt my knees buckle and lowered myself to the ground, a slightly malicious laugh growing around me. It wasn't Knives's, but someone close to him. Midvally picked me up from the ground and used himself as a crutch for me, taking me closer to the small group assembled at the base of the plant.

            "How nice to see you again, Chapel," Legato Bluesummers approached us. With a slight wave of his hand, he dismissed Midvally, though he stayed put. "I must say, your brother was fairly distraught when we brought you to the coroner's. Couldn't even get his own name out of his mouth,"

            Midvally looked away, slightly disgusted. "You could have told me he wasn't dead,"

            Legato glanced back at him. "You were not given permission to speak, subordinate."

            "Why do you pretend people die?" 

            I watched in silent awe. As children, I was always the one to lose my temper and lash out at somebody. I'd kept silent tabs on my brother, noticing him to be often calm and restrained.

            "You pulled it with Dominique, too! Do you find it funny?"

            The woman shot Midvally a silencing glare.

            I was wondering how I'd ended up in the company of such an odd group.

            Legato's grin was borderline psychotic. "Subordinate, I could have actually let you kill yourself, you know,"

            Midvally muttered something that sounded like "waste of a puppet".

            A small child crept out of the shadows and latched onto Midvally's leg. "Papa, who is he?"

            I looked down at the girl. Dark hair, large hazel eyes, and the same terrified look I remembered on Midvally's face the day I left.

            "He's your uncle Nicholas," Midvally knelt down to the girl. "Go back to Mama,"

            The girl stared at me for a few seconds more, her glare somewhat resentful, than ran back to her afore-mentioned mother.

            "You have a daughter?" I was fascinated by this. Considering my brother's affiliation with the Gung-Ho Guns, I was surprised that any woman would consider marrying him.

            "Two," he said quietly. "Zoe's nine and Laura's six,"

            I remained stoic. I didn't want my brother knowing of my family.

            "Daniel," Legato's voice grew more venomous as he said the word. "Chapel found us before you did."

            I turned to see my own son standing behind me, loathing in his eyes when he saw me.

            "Did you find it?" Legato asked him impatiently.

            Daniel shook his head. "I was only able to be in the house for about five minutes. I'm sure he still has it, though,"

            Legato's eyes darkened a shade, then he turned back. "Dominique,"

            The woman appeared up next to him in an instant.

            "Would you be able to keep the eye active for as long as it takes to get in the house and find either gun?"

            "If I knew where it was," she said so quietly I thought I imagined it.

            "Chapel knows where it is," Legato said, staring at me. "He can show you,"

            He then turned to Daniel, murmuring quietly. I watched in horror as my son collapsed to the ground as though he were a rag doll.

            I suddenly wished I had my cross. To hell with not killing anyone. 

            "What the hell did you do to him?!?" I snapped, turning on Legato. 

            Legato ignored me and walked over to Daniel, picking up the limp body. "I have done nothing. Perhaps you'd like to speak to your brother or his woman about what happened to your son,"

            Midvally balked. "That was _his son?"_

            Dominique, however, looked on with the same calm demeanor she'd always possessed.

            Legato glanced at Midvally. "Subordinate, even if ties are as strong as blood, they are disregarded in this life. No longer is anything civilized. Now, only the strong will survive. This puppet was weak, the one who it was fashioned of weaker,"

            "He was an infant!" Midvally snapped. 

Legato just cackled. "Wait until Master gets here. You will be punished for your impudence, subordinate. And if Master permits, I shall do it while he watches."

Turning to me, Midvally said. "Get out of here, Nicholas,"

            I obliged, running with all my might back to my house. The sun was slowly rising, and I was busy dead-bolting all the doors and locking the windows of the house.

            "Nicky-kun," Milly said, handing David off to me when she came into the living room. "Daniel's missing,"

            "I know," I murmured, my gaze falling out the window.

            What I'd seen that night, what I'd overheard, it was all making things complicated.

            I put David down on the couch where Milly was sitting. "Don't open the door for anyone!" I ordered her.

            I ran back upstairs for my cross, noticing Rebekah sitting on the bed. "What are you doing?"

            I glanced at her for a second and unlocked the trunk, removing my cross from it. I once again sealed it and looked back at my daughter. "Rebekah, this is not a time for questions. Be a good girl, and I'll be back as soon as I can,"

            I hurried back down the stairs. "Wait for me," I said sternly, passing Milly on the way out.

            Why was I getting a sense of déjà vu?

            I ran down the street to find Vash and found myself pounding on the door.

            "Cut it out," Vash hissed. "You know damn well I'm the only morning person in this house,"

            I ignored the comment. "They're alive. Legato, Dominique, Midvally, the lot of them,"

            Vash raised an eyebrow. "How much did you drink last night? I know you two had close to a full bottle of brandy,"

            "Tongari, I _saw_ them," I said sharply. "They want your gun for some reason."

            "They're dead," he insisted. "I know this for a fact."

            I knocked him in the face with the side of my cross. "If they're so dead, how come even you admitted to hearing a saxophone being played in the middle of the night?"

            "Common instrument,"

            "But not with the skill Midvally has," I glared at Vash. "And while you're at it, you might want to check that your brother's still in the house,"

            Vash led me in. "Leave that thing here," he ordered, gesturing to the cross.

            "It stays with me,"

            His cold teal eyes bored into my own, but he didn't say a word. I followed him silently up the stairs and waited in the hallway as he retrieved his gun.

            "It's okay, Meryl-chan," he pleaded. I could hear his whining through the door. "Everything's fine,"

            "Then **_why_ are you carrying that thing?" she snapped.**

            She is not a beast to be tamed in the morning.

            Vash let himself out of the room. "I suppose you'll want me to thank you for this,"

            "No, not really,"

            I nudged open the door to Knives's room.

            There was no sign of him at all in the room.

            "Believe me now?" I asked him, my voice edgy.

            "Stuff it, terrorist-priest,"

            I raised an eyebrow at him as we walked out of the house.

            "Okay, genius," Vash turned back to me, spinning his gun and placing it in the holster. "Which way?"

            The man in red had once again picked up his gun...whether or not he was going to use it was an entirely different story.

            I started following the path to the plant.

            "Oh, no," Vash said. "I am not letting you destroy it if you think Knives is in there,"

            "Never said I was,"

            Feels just like the old days. Except for both of us being ten, eleven years older.

            "Well, well, well," Legato greeted us about a hundred feet away. "Chapel's decided to rejoin us." He glanced at the man beside me. "And he's brought us Vash the Stampede as a present."

            THUD

            Vash the Stampede, the most wanted man on the planet, had fainted dead away beside me.

            Legato picked up the gun. "Or perhaps he just brought us Vash's gun, to relieve Dominique of the burden of finding it herself,"

            Right behind him, I saw Knives standing, arms crossed, a self-satisfied smirk crossing his face.

            He started to laugh maliciously.

            "The end, Chapel. Run back to your family, because this time, it's the end,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--Sunny


	9. Angel Arm Again

Uh, yeah. That was a fake out. That wasn't the end. Sorry if I worried you...

No ownie Trigunny.

**Unmarked--Chapter Nine**

            "The end, Chapel. Run back to your family, because this time, it's the end,"

            The tall blonde man cackled again, taking the gun from Legato.

            "Go on," Knives said, turning back to me. "Meet your end with your family. Not out here, alone,"

            Beside me, I noticed Vash stirring slightly. 

            Unsteadily, he stood up.

            "Knives," he said calmly, as though he was addressing a child. "Give me the gun,"

            "Then do it yourself," he said maliciously.

            Vash's cold eyes engaged themselves in a stare down with his brother's.

            "You know what you have to do," Knives said calmly.

            Vash turned and ran.

            I stared after him; pretty sure my mouth was gaping.

            "Subordinate,"

            I turned back to see Midvally now standing with Legato and Knives. Legato was speaking to him.

            "You must be ready to meet your death. You knew this day would come."

            I twitched slightly. "And what day would _that_ be, lap-dog?"

            Knives aimed Vash's gun at me. "Chapel, you will not speak without permission,"

            "Oops," I said nonchalantly. I pressed the indentation in my cross. The sound of it converting into the machine gun it really was comforted me a bit. I aimed it at Knives. "Where is my son? I know you know,"

            Knives raised his eyebrows in a humored glance. "He was simply disposed of. Destroyed for the use of a puppet."

            He snapped his fingers and the ground beneath us broke slightly. A few bones rose up gingerly.

            "If you would like your son, there he is."

            I quickly shot at him, hitting him square in his left shoulder just as Vash appeared next to me. He shot me an accusing look.

            Legato nodded his head towards Midvally, who mechanically walked over to me and took my cross. I couldn't fight it for some reason. I just watched Midvally walk back to where he'd been standing with my cross.

            "Did you have fun trying to save your precious humans, Vash?" Knives asked him through grit teeth, clutching the wounded joint.

            Vash glared at him then shot his other shoulder. "I told you that if you made a move to hurt anyone here, I'd kill you,"

            "Rem," Knives shot, his teeth still clenched. "She wouldn't approve,"

            "To hell with that," Vash said icily. "It's for the good of the people here,"

            Legato picked up the gun, as Knives had dropped it when I'd incapacitated him. "I'm sure you'd be enlightened to know how we're here, Vash the Stampede,"

            Vash didn't even flinch. "Tell me,"

            Legato smiled as he turned and beckoned a slight woman out of the shadows. She had small, round scars that looked as though teeth had caused them.

            Midvally's mouth hung open. "Rachel," he said sharply. "Why are you here?"

            I knew this girl was familiar.

            "Rachel Leonof," Legato said calmly. "The puppet master,"

            "No fucking way," I snapped. "I killed him,"

            The girl shook her head. "Another puppet, one that was sent out into the field,"

            "Rachel controlled them all without ever leaving Dhmitri," Legato said, a hint of pride in his voice.

            "So she could play whore to you," Dominique spat from where she was sitting with her two daughters.

            Rachel ignored the comment.

            "She created puppets of all of us," Legato said. "For the sake of antagonizing only,"

            "No shit," I muttered, glancing at my brother.

            For a second, Vash looked as though a huge weight had been lifted off of his soul. "I'm not a killer," he murmured.

            The look on Legato's face clearly showed he wished he could take back what had just occurred.

            "What about Daniel?" I demanded. "You had nothing to model it after,"

            Legato turned to me and smirked. "Except for an image of how you looked when you were a child, which your brother so graciously provided."

            Midvally glanced over at me and shook his head.

            "But, none of this matters now. The day I have long awaited is now here. The complete eradication of the human race will begin with this miserable little town."

            Legato tossed Vash's gun to his left arm and aimed directly between Vash and me, at the town behind us.

            "This is your gift, Vash the Stampede," he said, looking directly, his eyes cold. "You denied it, as well as your brother, and now the situation has to be dealt with like this."

            I felt a dangerous force pressing on me, my eyes closing due to the blinding light.

            "This is what you were meant to do!" I could hear Legato shouting above the din. "For your Eden, to make this planet just for you and him,"

            I turned away, putting my back to him. I opened my eyes slightly, to the ghastly sight awaiting me. The force pushed me to the ground, making me curl up into a ball.

            The buildings were being decimated, taken apart piece by piece.

            What was happening here, I understood, was what had happened in July and Augusta, all those years ago.

            There was a loud crack from behind me and slowly all that was going on stopped. I got up and turned back.

            The only ones standing were Vash and Midvally. Legato lay between them.

            Presumably dead.

            However, Vash and Midvally were staring each other down.

            He was still holding my gun, only now it was aimed against Knives's head.

            "Don't think that without his major pawn, that it isn't going to happen again," Midvally said coldly. "All he needs is your gun, or enough metal to fashion his own,"

            Vash walked over to Legato and picked up his gun. He, however, put it in his holster.

            "Vash!"

            The Humanoid Typhoon and I turned to see Bernardelli's disaster prevention team running towards us.

            Well, at least half of the team was.

            Meryl froze as she drew nearer.

            "There's no way," she said softly.

            Then she turned back and left, muttering, "The first human act of God,"

            I slowly, shaking slightly, crossed the divide between Vash and Midvally. "What the heck have you done?"

            My younger brother was quivering, and as soon as I reached out to grab his arm, he collapsed to the ground.

            "I just killed someone," he murmured. "I just killed him, and I almost killed someone else,"

            I knelt down to him, leaning on my cross. For the first time in over thirty years, I was worried for my brother.

            "I thought I could be like you, just kill someone and walk away without a care," he said quietly. "I mean, for years, you'd been killing and able to justify it. I thought I could be like that,"

            His hazel eyes darted away from me. "I just can't,"

            "Yes you can,"

            I turned back and saw Vash. He was looking at both of us with a cold sheen in his eyes.

            I wondered how Knives had been silent this whole time, until I noticed that his eyes, too, had the familiar vacant look of death.

            The twin suns were rising slowly.

            "This all was supposed to end, and the sun rises again," I said quietly, standing up.

            I took my cross and slowly walked away, towards my home.

            Milly was waiting for me.

            Just like last time. Because I told her to.

~Epilogue--Ten Years Later--December City~

            I wiped the sweat from my brow and walked out of the church, rice scattered on the ground.

            My brother was still playing some of the music from the wedding, though quieter now.

            "Clever," Midvally said, taking the saxophone away from his lips. "Having David give her away,"

            I nodded. "I obviously couldn't do it,"

            "Even if you weren't officiating," Vash said, coming out of the church and sitting down next to me, "I don't think you would have had the strength to give Rebekah away,"

            "He still sees her as his baby girl," Midvally said, basking in the last few glows of the sun. "My girls still are."

            "Chad's good to her," Vash said. "There shouldn't be anything to worry about,"

            I watched him walk around the side of the building, to one of the graves. It had been left unmarked.

            But we all knew who it was for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE END

--Sunny


End file.
